Art education is a powerful tool for fostering creativity and critical thinking in students. It helps improve fine motor skills, encourages self-expression, boosts confidence and self-esteem, and provides psychological support. By immersing students in arts education, they are drawn into a complex and multifaceted endeavor that combines various subject matters such as mathematics, history, language, and science.
Art education is particularly valuable during times of crisis, inspiring creativity even in confinement, providing psychological support, and building connections between people and the world. The National Advisory Committee for Creative and Cultural Education defines creativity in terms of the ability to express emotions, ideas, and beliefs in a meaningful and impactful way. Arts integration helps students see the world from multiple angles and take a design-thinking approach in finding solutions. Teaching young people to be careful and deliberate observers can go a long way toward expanding their understanding of the world.
Art education teaches students how to be open-ended thinkers, which is essential for holistic development. It nurtures independence, self-respect, and collaboration skills, as well as improving cognitive skills like problem-solving, pattern identification, and mental organization. Open-ended play with art stimulates the senses and helps develop cognitive, social-emotional, and multisensory skills.
Studying the arts can help develop creative thinking skills that can be applied to other disciplines, but teachers need to encourage students to develop creativity in early years. Developing creativity in early years builds children’s problem-solving abilities, enhances divergent thinking, boosts self-expression, and self-esteem.
In conclusion, art education is a valuable tool for fostering creativity and critical thinking in students. By incorporating various subjects, such as mathematics, history, language, and science, students can develop their expressive and cognitive skills, leading to better academic and social development.
📹 The Importance of Art Education | StarTalk
About StarTalk: Host Neil deGrasse Tyson brings together celebrities, scientists and comedians to explore a variety of cosmic …
Why is creativity important in art education?
Art integration in education not only promotes creativity in learning but also fosters self-assurance and well-rounded students. It encourages learners to stretch and explore their thinking, leading to more confident, inclusive, expressive, and collaborative learners. The lifelong benefit of arts education extends beyond the final product, as it allows students to recognize and understand complexity, use reason to reach conclusions, and become responsible decision-makers and emotionally intelligent individuals. The National Arts in Education Association highlights the importance of art in education in fostering a sense of responsibility and emotional intelligence in students.
In what ways can art inspire creativity?
Art has a profound impact on our creativity, stimulating areas of the brain responsible for cognitive flexibility, self-reflection, and complex problem-solving. It transcends language and touches the deepest recesses of our souls, fostering innovation and sparking new ideas. Art, in its diverse forms, can be found in captivating paintings, sculptures, music, and thought-provoking literature. Its neurological and psychological foundations underlie the connection between art and creativity, and it allows us to break free from the limitations of our everyday lives and explore worlds that exist only in our imagination.
By engaging with art, we can break free from the limitations of our everyday lives and explore worlds that exist only in our imagination. This article explores the profound impact art has on our creativity, exploring the neurological and psychological foundations that underlie the connection between art and creativity, and practical ways to incorporate art into our daily lives.
What would you gain from studying art?
Studying the arts benefits older school-aged children by enhancing self-confidence, self-control, self-identity, empathy, social tolerance, collaboration, and conflict resolution skills. It also boosts motivation towards goals, teaches persistence, disciplined attention, and risk-taking. Children with artistic studies also improve cognitive functions, such as spatial reasoning, conditional reasoning, problem-solving, and creative thinking skills. Students with continuous artistic study tend to achieve higher goals, such as studying calculus, pursuing a bachelor’s degree, and aiming for a professional career in adulthood.
Adults also benefit from artistic study, as it improves decision-making skills and self-confidence. Learning a new trade like drawing or painting forces the adult brain to stay sharp. Artistic study can also serve as an art therapy, providing emotional awareness and relaxation to combat stress. Further reading on the benefits of artistic study can provide a deeper understanding of these benefits.
How does art express creativity?
Art is the expression of human creativity and imagination, capturing ideas, conveying emotion, and unpacking experiences. It is accessible to anyone, offering countless outlets for expression and unifying us with a shared sense of reality. The arts are transformational, engaging our hearts, minds, and souls, elevating empathy, compassion, and connection on an individual level. From a societal perspective, art can be a unifying force, decreasing social barriers, and strengthening interpersonal connections. It is a powerful vehicle that helps us feel connected and make sense of the world.
How does creativity get enhanced with education?
To foster student creativity, educators should introduce problem-solving activities that require creativity, such as group and individual exercises, games, and conceptual problem-solving tasks. These activities help students become familiar with critical, creative, and lateral thinking processes, which will prepare them for their future careers.
Collaboration is also crucial for students’ future job roles. Teachers should actively encourage students to collaborate, communicate effectively, and empathize with one another’s feelings. Group brainstorming sessions can help students produce ideas, identify problems requiring solutions, and creatively find solutions. These activities equip students with the readiness to succeed in the real world.
Creativity is a powerful tool for improving students’ well-being and preparing them for the world of work. Teachers can achieve this by incorporating play into classroom environments, catering to individual needs through mixed modes of lesson delivery, and using assignments that simulate workplace tasks. These methods solidify students’ soft and hard skills, allowing them to gain a well-rounded understanding of their interests, preparing them to enter the workforce with confidence.
Does drawing increase creativity?
Drawing is a transformative practice that enhances observation skills, creativity, self-expression, patience, focus, and a growth mindset. It serves as a universal language, bridging communication gaps and fostering a deeper connection with the world. Drawing allows individuals to articulate complex ideas with clarity and impact, fostering effective expression. Consistent practice cultivates patience, sharpens focus, and encourages a growth mindset. Drawing also serves as a potent tool for personal development and bridging communication gaps.
How does art boost creativity?
Creativity is a fascinating neuroscience that involves the activation of the Default Mode Network (DMN), a brain system that allows us to generate new ideas by connecting disparate concepts. Art also triggers dopamine production, providing pleasure and motivation to continue our artistic endeavors. Art is not just a pleasant activity; it can also serve as a powerful therapeutic tool, allowing individuals to express their feelings non-verbally, explore emotions and experiences that are difficult to put into words.
Art can also serve as a form of meditation, reducing stress levels and promoting relaxation. Additionally, art can help individuals gain insights into their thoughts, feelings, and experiences, fostering a greater sense of self-understanding. Group art activities can improve social interactions and cooperation.
How important is creative arts?
Creative art offers numerous benefits, including connecting with beauty, elevating mood, stimulating the brain, breaking down barriers, and being fun. It can be done through sewing, painting, drawing, playing music, or growing flowers. The language of art is universal, regardless of language, ethnicity, social status, location, or age. Engaging in artistic pursuits and sharing ideas can lead to a happier day.
How can creative arts teachers encourage creativity?
Incorporating creativity in art lessons can be achieved through various strategies. One effective approach is to present options for creativity, allowing students to choose their preferred mediums, tools, and subject matter. Labeling cabinets and drawers in the classroom allows students to use various materials and tools, allowing them to consider the qualities of the materials and tools available.
Another effective approach is to propose the lesson as a question, asking students to create a collage that reflects their interests while still resembling a nutcracker. This approach encourages students to consider the qualities of the materials and tools available to them, allowing them to execute their plan most effectively.
Providing time for planning and fostering group work and collaboration are also key strategies for promoting creativity in art lessons. By setting goals and reflecting on experiences, teachers can encourage students to think creatively and solve problems in their art lessons. Overall, incorporating creativity in art lessons can lead to more engaging and effective learning experiences for students.
How does art therapy improve creativity?
Art therapy is a therapeutic approach that uses the creative process of creating art to improve a client’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It involves a check-in to assess the client’s feelings and goals, followed by discussions about their artwork and its significance. The therapy can help clients develop coping skills and explore difficult emotions through the creative process. Art therapy offers numerous benefits, including emotional healing, as it allows clients to express and process difficult emotions in a safe, non-judgmental environment.
This therapy has been proven effective in treating various emotional issues, such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and grief. Overall, art therapy is a powerful tool for self-expression, healing, and personal growth.
How does art inspire students?
Arts education enhances both academic and life-after-school experiences. It fosters self-expression, creativity, and confidence, while also improving individual identity and wellbeing. Creativity can alleviate stress and improve health and happiness. Arts lessons can release pressures from studying and everyday life, promoting critical thinking and interpreting the world. Students feel free to express themselves and explore new ideas, often listening to music. Art is a non-prescribed, dangerous world filled with possibilities, making it an excellent outlet for students to release stress and improve their overall well-being.
📹 Teaching art or teaching to think like an artist? | Cindy Foley | TEDxColumbus
What is the purpose and value of Art education in the 21st Century? Foley makes the case the Art’s critical value is to develop …
Art can change the course of history, it can change you whole perspective not just in big spectacular ways, but in the most mundane of ways it is an eternal spring of joy, but what good is that really in our world, particularly in this time, when prejudices are so rampant and hearts refuse to soften? I’m afraid art education as vital as they are, they simply fall as a mixed message in a time so lacking for inspiration in the face of such real world problems, when to simply suggest we see them in a different light, seems like treason to so many who refuse to plan for a brighter tomorrow rather then see the strings of our yesterdays.
the problem is that teaching art has gone backwards with the focus on contemporary art. It is not based on historical refinement of past masters in the field. It is all about play therapy based on maybe shock rather than skill sets. Art funding is cut because the emphasis is on mediocrity and has little public support. We need to get back to fundamentals and promote Art Guardians who will look after the general aesthetic of Art as an Art form with credibility. It all starts with the Art Academies and teachers who have been mislead in Art study over the past 120 years. A new rebirth or renaissance in an Art form which has served previous centuries well
Then it is not hard to say, “The Art World is Dead”. When Josh Groban or Freddie Mercury (past tense) sing anything their producers say….You have to be a singer! Where are those people for the fine arts world? I Am trying to find the YouTube post where Neil points to Van Gogh’s painting of Starry Night and says, If Einstein did not come up with E=MC2 another scientist would of discovered to, but if Vincent does not for his painting…no one else would ever do what you see there. That is pretty big!
The art curriculum at most schools bothers me. You have a bunch of kids working on extremely similar projects with little freedom. The best Art class I ever had was at my middle school watercolour class which was an optional class. The teacher gave us a very general theme like “abstract” and we could do anything with that theme. It gave us a chance to develop ourselves as artists and develop our own styles as well.
I graduated from art school many years ago and the experience resembles what your talk is about. Since then, I have progressively narrowed my focus on what has been coined as classical realism. Despite my appetite for technical virtuosity with traditional drawing and painting methods, I still utilize my early art lessons. I research, I ask questions, I employ critical thinking, my creative thinking exercises are not limited by discipline or medium and, I manifest ideas. The manifesting of ideas is not the end but rather the means to an end. I think it should be stressed that “Curiosity & Conceptualization” is GROUND WORK. Every project that goes through this ground work should be in support of a singular larger goal if you are to become a “Master Builder”.
Great talk… Nurturing creativity and innovative thinking is so important! I love how Cindy articulated it. It builds individuality and as she says, new ideas… I teach art in London, and luckily I do it privately and have the freedom to do so without limiting the creative process of the little artists, but encouraging them to bring out their own ideas. Thank you for this talk, Cindy, it’s inspiring. 👏🏽♥️
This spoke so deeply to me. My whole life art was my outlet, more then anything else ever. the safest presents to buy me AT ANY AGE was always art supplies. but because i couldnt replicate the works of the masters my family refused to support me. My art teachers did, I had a piece of my classwork entered into a exhibit in 6th grade which i have kept even to this day but my parents stopped letting me take art classes from then on. it wasnt until my senior year of high school that i ever took another real art class, and in that one i also had a piece entered into an exhibit. i never got to see either, my parents wouldnt let me go. it wasnt until the last 4 years i really took to my art again because i didnt believe i could. now im applying to have photographs of mine entered into a local exhibit and getting everything ready to teach art classes for my community. to this day my family still dont think im an artist, but at least now (with the help of this article) i own who i am. <3 <3
Thank you! Thank you! I totally agree! as an artist/teacher this is such a detrimental reality! Art is not just a canvas and some paint. “Creativity is the Potential for Ideas from Within” as Foley stated. We could learn so much more if we allowed ourselves to pick up a brush and paint “anything!” I teach summer art lessons in my back yard, and I always tell me students that there is no right or wrong in art – that it all comes from within and the courage to try.
My opinion. The humanities is what should should teach the “us” to be idealistic and creative in thought, ever searching. Art class should introduce and teach our young to be able to use various media with a competence that will allow, or disallow it to be consumed by others (in whatever measure) The best preparation will only ever allow one to be prepared…someone said something like that in he past. When I go to the Maryland institute of art to see what the young are creating/learning I am ashamed for the faculty. Mostly poorly constructed and ill conceived works derived from whatever school the instructor most admired. Our art schools are providing the next gen. of teachers not artist. Art is adrift in modernity…and I have a good idea why.
A great article, that confirms many researches concerning creativity. It is weird and perplexing, that some still believe creativity means being able to draw well=realistically, since a lot of research was made concerning the word “creativity” which means “thinking differently, finding new solutions to problems”. There is no connection to drawing abilities. 13:24 – “integration” of one subject into another. Using one subject to describe another, so it would be understandable and more rich to children.
I love this article so much! I’m a teaching artist in Portland, OR, who specializes in teaching kids to play, perform, and compose their own music on the guitar. I found so much inspiration and wisdom in this Ted Talk. Thank you for sharing, and I can’t wait to begin implementing these powerful ideas in my after-school guitar program, the Rock Dojo.
Good observation on her part, that some may have forgot this or they did not know why it is so important. There are artist who can do photo realism because of formal training but have forgotten the need for risk and creativity (ideas), so is it really art? I think that has always been an issue in art that people have talked about. Tools (all tools mental and physical) and the creative idea process should never be parted.
While I agree that supporting and praising creativity and ideas is a great thing and should be done more, I really have a problem with her anti- realism statements. All facets of art should be learned and understood for a truly full and useful art education or to become a great well- known artist. There is absolutely nothing wrong with praising a student for having good understanding of detail or anatomy of something and will further their skill. Actually it really would make sense to alter the way you teach, praise, and inspire each student depending on what their strengths are so they can truly excel in their chosen style or sector of art. However I do believe, in any case, every art student should be taught art history, and about the old masters, and what made them great. Their stories are some of the deepest and most meaningful inspiration.
Picasso visited one of caves with ancient stone aged art on the walls – when he exited the cave he famously exclaimed “we have learned nothing”. This TED talk hits the potential answers to the issues of creativity facing global western acculturused countries employing standardised models of measured progression.
What is the difference between “ambiguity” and “confusion?” I was confused by your question – and I’m glad I caught on. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one! And using words to communicate effectively – clearly – “less intellectually” – is what kids need. It is image based. I am a children’s author and once, after I had told one of my stories, a seven year old student came up to me and said, “I wrote a book!” I was totally impressed and asked what his story was about and he told me I asked him further (I also illustrate my books), “So did you draw pictures to go along with your book?” He said, “No. The words make the pictures.” It would do us an immense amount of good if we could learn from what he said. Ambiguity often comes when our words don’t make pictures, but cause confusion.
Art ed looks more like “color by numbers” in most settings – follow the rules, make it look real, replicate…etc. So sad. Creativity on the other hand allows for imagination, whimsy, lateral thinking, interpretations, unique versions, breaking the rules and THAT’S what my classes are all about. Fortunately for my students, I’m self taught and a rebel.
I’m a first year art teacher and I always come back to this ted talk. The enthusiasm I see in one of my kids’ eyes when I tell them to keep pursuing something, that the experimentation they are doing is good is honestly the best part of the job. Seeing them get so excited about their own ideas and innovations is something I can’t get enough of
Man, I wish art college taught the way you are saying art should be taught. I went to art college and got F’s simply for including creativity in my drawings. “Draw just one square. No color.” We did stuff like that over and over. It emotionally killed me. When I’d try to add some creativity like putting more squares creating things out of the squares I’d get an automatic F. We had to copy past artists paintings, and we didn’t get to paint what we wanted at all. It had to be an exact copy of the original. It was so bland. . . So boring. I love drawing things on the spot. It’s fun and exciting. I like unique quirky artwork. Ones that are extremely creative and complex.
so agree with you…I am a self taught artist and I am saddened by the robotic teaching style that they call art studies..My son is a 11th grader and I am so happy that he has a love for art.He loves to draw in pencil, military characters and some anime style ones.I would love to see him grow his skills more in other techniques.just like all other school subjects taught,It seems like Art is thrown in the mix,haphazardly …Its importance is not realized.I know for a fact,that proper involvement in art means total freedom of choice to create whatever your heart and mind desires,it builds your character and humbles you especially.Art education is important,even more so today.
Yes, yes, we all must learn how to think creatively, but without knowing or focusing on the fundamentals first, it’s like trying to write a novel without first learning the alphabet. Teach art students how to make a horse look like a horse before you start to abstract it. I’ve seen too many instructors in universities start with the later and forgo the former. Please, we should all be having lectures on the value of representational art as a precursor to abstraction otherwise we will all be going to art galleries and seeing ’12 Million Dollar Stuffed Sharks’ in formaldehyde tanks and we will be told it is art, when in fact it is marketing and branding. That is another conversation.
Totally agree. After producing a grade A* gcse art portfolio, unsurprisingly all my ideas had gone to waste. Even one full sketchbook of ideas was not submitted and why? For what purpose? To show of skill, although the ideas were developed i was unable to submit because i already showed skill in other pieces. This is a wrong view in my opinion. I am writing this to ask for your view, i would like to know wether it is a good career path for me to take(art education) because i have plenty ideas that I think the youth could benefit from. Is it?
Creativity is really thinking outside the box. Politically and socially America does not want people who think outside the box, especially as illustrated by changes in the country during the past several years. Therein lies the dilemma. Those who think outside the box in America are perceived as a threat. We applaud the financially successful results of their experimentation but are fully prepared to shun them if the results are not profitable. America is a victim of its narrow creativity. I applaud this Tedx in principle but recognize that in practice America is not fertile ground or open for creativity. We just think we are.
I think a practical solution to her stated problem would be to start teaching more design or “strategy” classes in school. Designing for a specific class or client forces you to be creative in a strategic way of thinking in order to obtain a goal. I think that what she is a proponent for is for encouraging expression and exploration. I think these can be tied to creativity but they’d tend to be less productive. I would be really interested in knowing how she thinks an art classroom should be led practically. And as others have said, there’s nothing wrong with teaching skills in art class. Some forms of art, especially in the renaissance were all about creating beautiful works of art that required amazing skill—and not much of a need for the ability to embrace ambiguity. In recent years, art has moved to more of expression, rather than creating beautiful things though, so she’s most likely more so embracing the new trends in art. Regardless, this talk is very good to bring up challenges and to get you thinking and talking about what art classes should look like.
I actually clapped at the end with the audience – from my sofa! Thank you Cindy Foley for such an inspiring talk. I am a musician trying to be brave and explore different media and come up with great ideas 🙂 Musicians are not taught about ambiguity, or, for that matter, much about ideas…I’ve noticed my artist friends are far, far more comfortable with these things. I now feel far happier about all the strange research and thinking I am doing! (PS I have played at the Old Operating Theatre in London that you pictured!)
I’m lucky enough to be in a University where they teach us how to think like artists and develop our ideas, embracing ambiguity and create meaningful stuff, rather than copying what others have done. But we do have art history and philosophy classes, to help us understand what others created before us and its perception in its contemporary society.
I have been painting for decades and have no idea what “think like an artist means”, but I hope it doesn’t mean there is a “way” to think”. Maybe some schools differ, but as I recall, subject matter would be conditioned in most schools. Trying to light fires under people who might “become artists” is offensive. People with something to say, or show, need no fire- they need time, space, respect and love. Mostly love.
I think a lot of you are missing the point, she trying to explain that art should not be restricted in how you do it let the kids be creative. I do believe that it’s important to know the history and all different skills medium there are in knowing how to do art knowledge is important, but as an artist, how you create your art comes from within you it’s a self expression there is no one way of doing art and basically what she’s explaining is to allow students to express themselves be creative think outside the box don’t just critique. There needs to be a balance of inspiring and giving students the knowledge and skills and then allowing them to interpret and create.
Anyone heard of Educationalist Charlotte Mason? English, revolutionary, champion of “idea” based learning, deceased since 1923? This capsulized her main tenet without ever using her name. I’ve studied, taught, and written about Mason for 23 years and her name deserves to be mentioned here because she would never want to “kill the ideas” and lived for math, art, and science to be in service to ideas. I loved the trans-disciplinary research concept because that describes my mind, my life, my entire drive. Please forgive that as it’s not intended as a boast. Thank you!
The panic that precedes creativity is was a perfect description of what I feel at certain moments while beginning any project. There is no set “vision” of what I want to achieve, I find myself only desiring that it be some perfect rendition of some nebulous idea. The creativity comes about when I can let go of the concept of perfect rendition, and focus on what is in my brain, moment to moment. It is free association of thoughts, playing with shapes and colors, putting the unexpected or unusual into the mix somehow. This is how I try to keep experimenting, to not fall into a routine, to learn something new from each piece. Thank you for your words of encouragement.
I never heard how creativity was defined, what creativity is, how creativity is manifest. A “creative bone?” I thought creativity is in the brain. I just think there are a few flaws here. Peter Jones gives a hint of it when he says “Self creative people, realize, what can’t be taught…” I’d like to hear a defininition by the speaker what her context is when discussing ‘creativity.’ Cindy’s voice was nervous, her facial expression was strained and she uses the moment to promote her husband. Sorry to be a stick in the mud and I don’t mean to be critical but: We need counter discourse if we are going to evolve as crative beings. We need the nay sayers who will help us polish, devielop and refine our craft, our expertise. By the time it was all over I wasn’t sure what the message was. I doubt I could reiterate to someone what went on for fifteen minutes.
This lady is off of her knocker, she rambles on and on about creativity and ideas, but doesnt specifiy how to do it. All the great artists in history learned the basics of art, they spent years learning before they made their masterpieces and that includes Monet. Learning the basics allows people to be more creative because it allows them to get their ideaa across and do what they want.
Yeeeeeesssssss! She gets it! her message is music to my ears! i taught art in this way – for kids to KNOW that they are all creators and creative thinkers – and the school couldn’t have THAT – according to the “curriculum” of art “education,” that’s considered subversive! god forbid – process art that is open-ended! Think about what society tries to indoctrinate us to be…creative thinking scares the people who want to stay in control of the rest of us.
How to kill creativity? By saying you’re “wrong”. By insisting there is only one “right” interpretation everyone must adhere to. Creativity is about exploring options, perspectives, dimensions and seeing which ones stimulate growth. It’s a widening, not a narrowing. A deepening, not a shallowing. Wings of imagination, not two feet planted firmly on the ground. Encourage the kids to explore!
In my school(secondary) we got to choose our option subjects and i chose art for the sake of wanting to learn anatomy and other art related things what i ended up with was learning a very watered down version of the loomis method and a brief look at 1 ppint perspective most of our years so far is spent on just doing posters for the schools maths week or science week or whatever small event there doing In terms of actual art we have learned nothing and ive had to learn and study anatomy by myself which makes it especially harder since at first i didnt know where to start which was the reason i chose art to begin with The tests arent even good its just realism and copying a object as closely as possible.What happened to the art we were meant to learn?This is just copying what we see,sure it trains the eye but thats it
Halfway through, Monet was brought up with the realization that they weren’t teaching students to think (and see?) like Monet. In order to understand Monet’s work one has to have solid drawing, study of color/color theory, understanding of light, composing of space, scale, and experience that comes from working as a painter/draughtsperson from life for some time (years). Artists, Painters, are creative because they solve problems inherent to their medium and craft, inherent to the problems of painting, such as creating space, expressing light and/or color, expressing movement, putting disparate elements together within a composition, and so on. The creative sense of ‘play’ is inherent, I think, to curious minds, but one can’t solve the inherent problems found within a field of they are not aware of them. And that awareness only comes from years of practice within that field, as a student and practitioner.
Centres for creativity…. so schools where people are taught to think for themselves..? Where their inspiration is valued..? So that they can leave school and be enabled to contribute to solving the problems and chalenges of the world..? When school is really just a sorting system, where the students are measured against required standards of conformity in order to be rewarded with opportunities to be further indoctrinated, before joining firms with vested interests in the status quo… is it really any wonder that the problems and challenges of the world go unsolved…? The increasing devide bewtween rich and poor.. The degradation of the environment… The disapearing skill of creativity… Conservatism that conserves nothing….
would of been better to offer some practical exercises we could use with students that would make them more courageous. My biggest obstacle with students is to get them to not fear abiguity. For example if I tell them to make an abstract painting they will sit there and not know what to do. They will google a picture on google and copy that. I wish I could find a way to get them to develop their own ideas and pursue them instead of assuming they are not artists
This mindset actually undermines what art teachers do. Show me a math teacher giving a Ted talk about “teaching for linear thinking.” Can you imagine math teachers advocating to stop teaching kids to solve math equations but instead just teach how mathematicians think because big corporations need people who are good problem solvers.
The elements of art are fundamental to any visual art practice. You would not give a student who was learning an instrument no or limited instruction on how to play it. Freedom comes when basic understanding is reached. Drawing basic shapes and things are important, so are genres, still life,landscape, abstraction, portraiture, art historical styles . Postmodernism is now a style. It is a mixture of traditional and popular styles in a single art work. You can of course teach the use of materials, styles and methods in non-traditional ways but understanding of tradition is key to breaking away from orthodoxy . Monet knew what academic art was. Her husbands art is a mixture of abstraction, sometimes highly rendered cartoon eyes, comics and installation art. These are all learned skills based on acquired skills and art historic examples. A Steam class has room to let students experiment in the way she is talking about. Art should be a mixture of the traditional skills, genres and contemporary ideas.
Sorry, I’m sure the intent was good but it was hard to overcome the delivery. Ms. Foley needs to organize her message and it would help her delivery if she punctuated it with a lot of graphics. What was the Essence of her presentation, the reason she was there? As every teacher knows to just stand there and lecture your students/audience for fifteen minutes can be deadly to the process of teaching. You would have to be a very talented lecturer to pull that off, which afraid Ms. Foley is not. That’s OK if you know that then approach your subject another way e.g. Graphic etc ask help from your artist husband etc. Good luck Ms. Foley.
Every craftsman must be an apprentice in the beginning. Not sure how you can effectively reach across disciplines and synthesize info when you don’t have the foundation of even one discipline. In my opinion, what she is encouraging is the biggest reasons none of our young people know anything, and the biggest problem with modern education. Don’t do to art what’s been done to every other subject. Kids do need to learn the concepts and the rules before they can creatively break the rules.
As an educator in the classroom and in the museum, I absolutely agree with the message, though I cannot say that it is an “insight,” educators already know all this. However, I am slightly offended by the blanket statement that all educators see themselves as “master artists” and their students as assistants without original ideas. I have NEVER experienced such irresponsible pedagogy and to spread this specific message (the rest is right on) is irresponsible, ignorant and almost amounts to slander. I see proof everyday, and I am proof, that this is not the case. Especially as an educator with an IB background this is offensive, in an IB school we start with the interest and curiosities of the students then design the unit from there. Every modern educator has working knowledge of the importance of student centered learning, inquiry based learning and the magic of creativity & culture in facilitating learning and spawning motivation. It’s not our ignorance of best practices that prevent teachers from teaching in a in a way that is conducive to unlocking ultimate potential in students… its the bureaucratic red tape put in place through ridiculous amounts of testing, and this is just a tip of the iceberg as to why…dig deeper and please do not be irresponsible with this blanket statement again.
Over and over in art lectures I hear things like ambiguity, potential, and the infinite possibilities of interpretation being posed as good things. In other words, things that mean uncertainty. Is it possible the only way to upset and shock the art world today is to insist on an objective standard over mere potential?
A limited illadvised point of view. Ideas are the things that separates one artist from another, one art (or otherwise) movement from another, but this speaker has completely disrespected craft within this discussion, not to mention the business of sustaining oneself as an artist. There is no recognition of the dedicated time it takes to build a creative mind, this non-artist, she’s just married to one, has a very one dimensional view on how to think as a artist. You can’t grade ideas, they are based on context, look at storytelling in animation, games and movies. More artists in schools is the answer.
Contemporary, abstract artist here. Curiosity and ideas are great and are the basis for the best artworks, but the prime pitfalls of modern art schools are the inherent lack of practical faculty skill required to elevate the hopeful student to a professional level, followed by the political issues within college institutions regarding art as an educational platform, under-equipping the art student due to low funding for materials. Hopefully, one day, creativity will be better rewarded socially and economically, but it’ll have to be a different approach than what’s been provided to most art students in the recent years.
I think she has some great points and ideas but it sounds like she has a retainer (maybe Invisalign retainers) in her mouth and I felt her annunciation was distracting me from what she was actually saying at times. Maybe I am nuts, but if I am correct, I would encourage her to take out her retainers when giving speeches/talks in the future. Smart person.
Great talk. I still bristled at moments where she talked about “learners”. Perhaps unintentionally she seemed to be getting back to the straight jacket that schools impose. You can keep using different words, but people are not products, and at times I still saw the industrial product model creeping back into her talk. There is also a central question she did not answer. Everyone can’t be Monet. You can take the point of view that he was just another disposable old W guy. Or more realistically that not everyone is artistic, or creative, and that if they were, there would be no capacity to produce and employ their output. Youtube is a little like that, in that it is now easier than ever to create and produce and distribute articles, but most people won’t do it, and a few people end up with the millions of viewers, while most people are lost.
Ideas are important but execution is more important. So many people can be creative and have brilliant ideas but are not disciplined enough to focus and execute into the imagined art piece. I mean you must know the “rules” to break them-in this case rules are the standardized techniques or styles in art. In order to execute the great ideas with freedom, techniques are the crucial tools to play with!Like sports, it’s not fun when you can’t even execute the fundamentals. Artists like any profession require vigorous amount of practice, experiment, and self-discipline to finally have the freedom to play around in a high level. The kid who drew the horse in my opinion deserves all the praises. To draw something in accurate details, it requires intensive observation and study in the details. A kid who can do that doesn’t necessarily mean less creative than a kid who doodles in abstract mind. This concept to me is dangerous because if education praises towards more on “ideas” and less on “skills” it will demotivate kids to invest time in practicing to become a master. However I absolutely agree that it shouldn’t be all about how “well” you can draw or paint something like ai or robots – without emotion and opinion and “idea” I agree with her mostly but for an artist, “ideas” are not everything – masters in techniques shouldn’t be underrated over poorly executed “creative ideas”. On another note, creative kids will likely to do artistic practice on their own out of school, so teaching assessable techniques and skills are not so bad because it can become the weapons and tools since we pay and invest time to the institutions to “teach”.
2 minutes into the talk, i came to the point of muting the article and turning on the subtitles.I truly don’t want to be rude but mouth sounds are truly hard for some people to tolerate. The sound make me so nervous and uncomfortable to the point i totally lost my concentration on what she was saying and all i could only hear was the mouth noise.
Its ridiculous the idea of teaching art. You cannot teach art you may teach skills but art is something that you simply cant teach. I think its important to understand the art history but the idea of teach you to be an artist its ridiculous. Thats why there is many painters but only a few artists! To become an artist you must create something new and unique in the artworld but how do you teach someone to create something that doesnt exist yet? It only exists in your conscious the ideas but your teacher tell you to do exactly the opposite and follow specific materials for each art project. You cannot teach art because everyone thinks differently
Great talk, but we all get confused at the reasoning behind the goal, we need to create ideas that teach interaction and cohesion, not separative speculative ideas that have a materialistic bent, we cannot create beautiful children and then stifle them, it will be our ability to think together, not apart that saves our race
She is so right. There are modalities that do not require formal artistic education. In fact, it may be blocking some very talented artists from creating in their own style because they are so scared to be bullied by those professors who know how one should draw or paint. Kandinsky once said that art must have psychological meaning, the emotional influence on people. Who cares if objects are perfectly painted or drawn if they don’t touch our hearts? They are just beautiful reflections, nothing else. Yet simple geometrical figures such as lines, circles, and triangles creatively put together may even make you cry – that is what we do with our art of Neurographica that I am teaching. I see people being deeply emotionally involved in their drawing, going thru a deep transformation, talking to their subconscious and changing their thinking patterns and root believes that limit their lives and their creative process
Teaching art or teaching to think like an artist? We need to learn art (tools) before we can think like an artist (concepts). These two are totally different concepts. And we dont teach people to think like an artist, we nurture them as art is abstract in its own way with different people with their own interpretations.
This seems all fine and good when we know how to use materials; how to arrange compositions; how to see. What does a lesson plan for primary aged pupils look like with these conceptual aspirations? Pupils need as much shepherding as they need freedom to explore ideas. The flock needs a shepherd while it scales the mountainside.
That is amazing and I loved every minute of it! This is a very important message that can only be understood by people if they see the pitfalls of a lack of creativity and a lack of a freedom to generate ideas no matter what they are. In any field, in computer science, office work, law. Generating ideas means evolving and if we’re not evolving we’re standing still.
I began painting late in life. I was pleased when what I painted looked like the real thing. For example, if I painted a vase, I wanted my painting to look just like the vase I was looking at. If it did, I considered my painting good. Sometimes I painted from photos. I chose photos that…looked like paintings ! That way, I didn’t have to make any decisions about color or composition. The photographer did that already. Sometimes, I made copies of other people’s paintings. I became very competent in this. But those copies showed only that I could control the paint and that I could match colors. The artistry was not mine. The artistry belonged to the person who created the original that I copied. I continued these approaches for years: Painting exactly what I saw either from life, from photos or from other paintings. Creativity eluded me. Something inside felt paralyzed. Nothing came to me. I couldn’t interpret what I saw in any way except realistically. I stared at Cezanne’s still lifes with awe. How did he know to put colors together like that?? Matisse. Gauguin. No, I didn’t expect to be able to paint like them but why, when I painted from life, couldn’t I see beyond the REAL? Why couldn’t I interpret? Didn’t I have anything to say? To express? I looked at the paintings of Arthur Dove and Wayne Thiebaud and felt envy at the way they could create ! They had a personal style. There is something that I am holding onto that I need to let go of. What has thwarted me?
Teaching students various techniques, proceedures, skills, applications in all the various mediums IS EMPOWERING THEM…If they know how to paint a rock that looks real. They can choose to make that rock float in mid air in their next painting…and everyone will be amazed at their creativity…instead of saying “what is it” Give them the skills and proceedures and then encourage creative application.
Holy smokes this is exactly what I want to create! Not for people who think they are “artists”, not just young people “who are developing”, but for the general public. Push them to think different. Push them to research and put together things in a new way. It’s so exciting to think what we can do with nothing off the table.
As an abstract artist this is right. Abstract can’t be taught. Art elements, colour,perspective etc. can be taught but the student needs to be encouraged to express their ideas in their own way. Sometimes it’s just how they feel at the time. Our work can be our idea and not liked by others but it does provoke conversation. Teachers let your students create without a rigid structure. Analyse and understand their work and provide encouraging feedback to every single one no matter how different they are.
Really? Most teachers are not artists, so how can they teach art? What anout avcual artists? How was I as a young child with talent who was an actual artistvsupposed to succed? I was punished for my creativity in school. I was also pushed sdide so that others eith no talent could compete eith me. Im still pushed aside.
This entire lecture seems to be attacking fine arts rather than the problems a person can go through when they’re trying to be creative and have ideas. True creativity will only come when giving a person the essential building blocks (IE basic fundamentals in drawing and painting) and learning from the great artists of the past. From there the sky is the limit. Making “mini-monets” isn’t quite the objective of copying from a classic artist. Even Monet used references. It’s called “life.” The same way her husband went out into the world and took existing ideas and made them his own. I find it truly ironic that she uses the analogy of using legos to be creative when legos are basically building blocks and a means of giving a person something that is already structured to be creative with. Same with with an artist learning the basic fundamentals of draftsmanship. I have no issues in other people expressing themselves in these ways. But an issue becomes clear when too many people regard these methods as absolute fact. We are all individuals and express ourselves in different ways. It’s almost as if she found her own way to do things creatively and closed herself off from exploring other ideas or ways to do things. Our brains are all structured differently and one student will not learn in the same pace or manner that another does. Almost in a sense, the idea of individuality is completely lost in this concrete way of teaching; an idea that was trying to be avoided since the beginning.
Anyone else find it ironic that she is using an ossified medium to share her message of creativity and she has added tropes to her bona fides. Additionally, she is assuming everyone can be creative with education, which is firmly grounded in the social psychological mainstream, even if its academic support is open to evaluation. Clearly she’s the most creative person in that room.
Nop. Firstley, that is not how “artists think”, not even close, and secondly, nobody calls the skill of drawing creativity, that doesn’t mean that realistic work is not creative, just like creativity isn’t just abstract forms and bunch of colors. Creativity isn’t just a random moment of spontanious emotions. Real creativity comes with work, discipline, patience and deep thinking. People who don’t have those qualities like to try real hard to dispute them. Creative thinking is not a playful state of mind and neither is art.